Perfect Landings?

What is a perfect landing? Is there such thing? And why are almost all flights judged by such? And why is there such an infatuation of boasting the skills required to do such?

Let's be honest, a "greased landing" is a great way to put your "signature" on a flight. A way to walk away from a flight with your own seal of approval, a way to give yourself a pat on the back. It's an almost immediate way to feel like you belong with the elite. I've seen students batch flights, demolish holds, miss radio calls, negate checklists, and still walk away from a lesson satisfied they put the plane down with "style".

Same seems to go for commercial flights. The first thing passengers compliment or degrade is the pilots landing, which I'm sure is passed off to the F.O when it's not so hot. The passengers have not a clue what may have gone on during the take-off or what important in-flight decisions were made in the duration of the flight. They don't know when a pilot has made a critical decision that ends the "chain of events". All they wait for is the landing...the pilot's "signature".

I personally don't know of perfect landings. I've never flown an approach where atmosphere conditions where IDENTICAL to the approach before that lead to the EXACT landing as before. I certainly do know of good landings though, some damn good ones too. And they all have a few things in common.

First, they require flexibility. The pilot needs to be able to adapt to any and all changing conditions with fluid control inputs to always maintain a "stable approach". This should never be in question.

Second, center line. It's there for a reason. Although I believe the statistics say only 9% of pilots can maintain six inches of center line on a constant basis, you should always be close. I tell students to keep the center line "between their legs". Besides, if your not using center line, how the hell are you effectively using rudder?

Third, dissipation of energy. I tell everyone to think of a landing as a controlled stall because...it is. A superior landing is going to require the pilot to manage energy going into ground effect. Too much leads to the "roller coaster", as I like to call it. Hands raised in the air as you ride the waves of a ballooning airplane. And the opposite leads to a nice sturdy touchdown where some occupants walk away with chipped teeth and sore tailbones.

Lastly, finishing the landing. It seems that when those mains touchdown somewhere in the vicinity of center line, a sigh of relief overcomes a majority of pilots who immediately let go of the controls. Your not done! Hold that nose wheel off until your completely out of authority over those elevators and let it touch down ON ITS OWN. This is certainly the "signature" move on a wonderful landing.

Let's be honest, at the end of the day a good landing is any that you walk away from and, as the owner of a flight school, one that the plane gets fly again after. I remember in my grandpa's bathroom plaque that said " flying is the second greatest thrill known to man...landing is the first". Maybe it is, and maybe that's why we'll always continue to be intrigued by such.

Enjoy this video of a "damn good" landing from yours truly